I met Todd a few years ago while I was living in NY. We did this project together with Alife, Arkitip and Etnies. After the project we stayed in touch and hung out every so often. At one point we started these Thursday night jam sessions in his house. I’ve always admired his work whether it was his collaborative efforts with Gary Benzel or his hand done animations for MTV and VH1. Todd is an amazing designer and artist and his work is truly inspirational. Enjoy this segment of AFQ

I met Andy Jenkins through submitting a drawing to his Diurnal Drawings back in 2001-2002. From that submission we would occasionally email back and forth and we both were posting links on the OG Arkitip IR news feed. If you follow skateboard art and it’s history you surely know who Andy is. You might recognize some of his work from the Wrench Pilot comics, 101 skateboard graphics and of course his work at Girl Skateboards / Art Dump. Besides his commercial work I’ve been a big fan of his personal art. The layers and clean organic lines that are found in his work allow the viewer to get lost in each piece. You should check out some of his older paintings and while you are it you can pick up newer pieces from here. I can ramble on and on but lets jump right in to A Few Questions.

I met Maya Hayuk in 2004. I emailed her about being in a show with me and a few others and when I finally go to meet her I was stoked on her whole vibe. She’s sarcastic with a touch of dark humor thrown in to keep the smiles going for hours. I’ve always been a fan of her work whether it was the huge murals she was doing with the Barnstormers or her highly detailed pen and ink drawings. She’s a true craftsman and her skills and talent touch numerous outlets. I managed to corner her for this edition of AFQ. Enjoy the words and the works.

In this episode of AFQ I fire a few questions to artist and designer Geoff Mcfetridge. Geoff is one busy dude, especially this year. He’s been involved in various solo and group shows as well as lending his signature drawing style to various companies for use on t-shirts and other products. This year Geoff also co-launched a skateboard line called Solitary Arts as well as a wall paper line called Pottok Prints. Damn he’s busy.

On a side note did you notice Geoff put up a site? It’s a first for him and it only went up today. Here’s what he said: “…for the first time I have a site that catalogs some of my studio champion graphics’ work and also my artwork”

In this edition of AFQ I reached out to Creative/Art Director Stella Bugbee. I met Stella through a friend in NY (who’s now her husband). When I was living in NY, she would have to endure “Thursday Night Jams” that her husband and I would do. We’d even make her listen to the nights end product. We’d be high fiving each other cause we thought we were geniuses and she would just sit there shaking her head as if we were nuts (which might be true. We did name the project Twinkler and Thrasher).

Stella Bugbee is an accomplished designer. She was recognized by How Magazine as “Woman to Watch” and has been honored by some of the top design associations. Her works have been featured in books and magazines. She got a lot of press for her “Lace Tape” which is pictured above. Now she is the Design Director for Domino Magazine and Topic Magazine (two completely different mags). Stella is one of the nicest people I’ve met and a true inspiration. Enjoy.

In this AFQ (”A Few Questions”) I link up with director/filmer Kirk Dianda. Kirk is well known for his filming contributions to skateboarding and was one of the main people behind the cult favorite On Video skateboard magazine that dove deeper into skateboarding as a culture and it’s young history. I have had the pleasure of working with Kirk on a few commercials and projects (which are featured in this segment). We really hit it off creatively and I truly admire his skill and vision. If you are into skateboarding you know of Kirk and if you are not, consider yourself in the know.

I was first introduced to Michael through SAS at Arkitip. We went to visit his studio which use to be in Atwater, Los Angeles (same block as Geoff McFetridge’s studio). He was there with his wife Laura. This studio was were they ran Stacks and also doubled as a painting studio for both of them. I stayed in touch with Michael via email for some time. Michael also pointed me in the right direction when I began Instant Winner. He really gave me great support on that project. Michael Leon is a great designer and artist with obvious influence on the new crop of designers coming through the ranks. He’s currently working with Nike SB as the art director after working on the innovative TechPack and recently showed new prints at the Arkitip Highmath Exhibition. Michael took a little time to answer “A Few Questions”. Enjoy.

Welcome to the first edition of AFQ (A few questions). These posts will be 5 questions posed to artists, designers and friends of mine. The questions will typically be about their design and their art and probably be random as well. For the first round I invited friend and artist Don Pendleton. Don and I have been friends for a few years and that relationship started via email and eventually turned into art shows and collaborative projects. Now Don and I work together (at times) at Element Skateboards. Don has a slew of projects going on including a documentary about his work that is due out later this year. Enjoy the clips, art and the words.